brensabre79

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1383165649' post='2261158'] Interesting stuff about cutting nuts [url="http://www.lutherie.net/nuts.html"]http://www.lutherie.net/nuts.html[/url] [/quote] Thats one of the best tutorials I've seen on the subject actually. I wish some of the 'luthiers' I've been to would read it.

As above, photo would help. Tone = volume, possibly the capacitor leg that is not soldered to the pot casing is also touching the pot casing - it must not!

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1383049414' post='2259471'] hmmm [url="http://www.rareelectricguitar.com/Fodera-Victor-Wooten-Yin-Yang-Standard-4-String-sale_893.html"]http://www.rareelect...g-sale_893.html[/url] [/quote] All but one of those pictures are the real thing. Can you guess which one isn't?

Type 1: Type 2:

Pre EB Sabre here. It's my Go-to bass for recording. Gig wise, my 74 Jazz is slightly less hard work, and sightly less rewarding to play. The neck profle on my '79 is somewhere between Jazz and Precision, i.e. exactly like a Stingray (which I've also had, loved and lost) The first Sabre's had the following controls: 3 pos. pickup selector switch • Out of phase switch (puts the two pickups out of phase!) • High Frequency boost switch Volume, treble, bass rotaries. these all had exposed 8 pole pickups like the Stingray (but they were smaller!) they also had the pesky 3 bolt necks with 'micro-tilt' - which is a PITA then in the very early 80s they changed to: 5 position strat style pickup selector with Volume, Treble, Bass They also changed to the covered pickups around this time. but ther is an overlap period where you'll get combinations of both. Around the EB time in the mid 80s they phased out the Sabre, but you do also get some models with the EB 3-band EQ. The modern reissue I believe is mainly based on the later 'improved' Pre EB model. Although i don't think it was much of an improvement, if any. They also have incorporated many of the improvements made to the Stingray during the Sabre's hiatus. I never understood why these were not as popular as the Stingray, and the classic ones don't fetch as much ££s either - despite being basically a Stingray with more - albeit in a marginally less attractive body shape. I'm biased of course, I have the original type (designed by Leo) but have re-wired the Phase switch to be a Series/Parallel - so have a good range of tones right there.

Here's a better circuit for the switch. It means that having one vol. turned down doesn't suddenly make the bass go silent when you switch it in - believe me on a gig you don't need the hassle! [attachment=147173:ser-par-lp-N.gif] Ignore the part about the pickup switch, just go to the volume controls after the series switch Even with a Push/Pull its still a switch, it's just attached to the pot so you don't need any extra holes. However, as I've said, you'll get a fat, dark sound from in-series. But I think setting up your amp differently will yield a better and more versatile overall sound

Danny I have a Musicman and a MIA Jazz too. I know exactly what you mean. The thing is, the MM sound is fatter than anything, massive humbucker plus pre-amp. A passive Jazz isn't going to get close on its own. you can upgrade the P/Us but the MIA Deluxe Jazz has some pretty tasty ones already. Mine is a 90s one with the Series/parallel mod already on (why did they stop?). you can do this, but I don't think it'll fix this - it just gives you an extra sound. I put a J-Retro pre amp on mine - which transforms it by a huge amount, then I took it off again as it wasn;t for me. The best thing you can do, in my humble opinion, is tweak your amp settings. If you approach form the perspective that your MM already has a pre-amp built in and the Jazz does not... you have to compensate for this with your amp settings Whack that amp gain up loads for a start. - if its too loud back off the amps Master vol. Do you do what most MM players do and turn all the knobs up to full? If you do then you're boosting loads of LF and HF - so do it on your amp instead, make a big smiley face with the graphic... The Jazz bass is deliberately quite middly so it cuts through the mix, so add the fattness at the amp and it'll start to be on a par with your stingray's I reckon - just remeber to put the controls back when you plug the MM in again

I'll only add to the above by saying... Be VERY careful when running the string back and forth (and the files for that matter) on the outside strings. Make sure the motion is linear, don't pull it left and right to try and widen the slot if you're using a narrow file, you don't want to pull of the little bit of nut between the edge of the neck and the string! Take it slow, keep checking the height the string sits at under tension. I know its a pain, but if you take off too much Nut, you can't put it back on. It's better to have it slightly too high than slightly too low...

You could always ask them about a custom winding, get it overwound so it's darker and booomier

I'd keep them separate fella. To be frank mixing cabs from different manufacturers is a fast route to a sh*tty sound in my opinion. Each will have it's own character, which you can compensate for a bit with EQ, but with two, or three different sounding cabs you're probably going to end up never quite happy with the sound. I reckon your best bet, especially for reggae, is to flog the lot and get a decent 4 ohm 2 x 12, better two, or even 2 x 15. Plus, if you get a well designed cab with good sensitivity (especially LF) you won't need so much power! I used to use an Acoustic 1x18 for my dub band, it didn't need much more than 100 watts to flap the trousers of the first 4 rows because it was a very efficient design (in terms of sound - definitely not in terms of transportation!). I ran it with a 100w valve head for years, never really got the amp to work hard either...

Must have missed this when it was posted originally, although I knew about it at the time. My dad was very good friends with Mr Edleston, they worked together at Barratts for years. He built a couple of lovely Jazz basses for my dad and helped me assemble my first Bitsa. Ever the practical joker, I remember popping in to the shop one saturday when he had araldited a 50 pence piece to the pavement just outside the shop window. He and my dad were snickering behind the counter at the passers by trying to pick it up and nearly falling over themselves in the process. Fond memories. A true gent who is missed by many!

Technique.

I concur. Not a bad price - but it is a starting price... It's a Precision, so I'm out.

Wow, and it's a bolt on one too!

Just got a reply from the guy selling it. It IS a typo, he meant £1,250.

If I recall, I had this trouble. There are some little micro volume presets inside for the two pickups. My first instinct was to wind these up all the way but I had distortion troubles because of the pickups being quite 'hot' - I think they are little blue ones you adjust with an electricians screwdriver. Turn them down and you should be clean fine.

The [url="http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Belcat-BHS-94-Single-Blade-Humbucker-Pickup/B7D?origin=product-ads&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_campaign=PLA+General&utm_content=fvtyqjpD|dc_pcrid_35303405719_plid__kword__match__"]BLADE[/url] type ones don't have pole pieces. They are continuous strip so string number and spacing is not an issue - hence the suggestion... It might be of interest that some of the R#ck*nb@cker basses had guitar pickups in, complete with 6 pole pieces... You could try [url="http://www.armstrongpickups.co.uk/"]Aaron Armstrong[/url] or [url="https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/pickups.php?cat=bass&sub=vintage&pickup=52_stagger&series=p_bass"]BareKnuckle - they do a staggared pole version[/url]

Nowhere close to being a Fender, from any series.

I think the most popular bass in the 60s was a Fender Precision, you might be able to pick one up somewhere...

I think this is why the design changed to the split P. Are they the same size as a strat pickup? Maybe one of those blade pickups for guitar would work? - they usually have a bit of a curve to them.

Personally, I would not try to run this with any extension cab other than a Polytone one designed for the job... Or a homemade copy of one with the correct driver. Even looking at forums online where people have replaced the internal speaker in their polytone with a JBL or something the results have not been great. The reasons are that the Polytone amp has quite a character to the EQ - it's not flat - this is to get the most low end response out of a tiny cabinet. If you use a 15" cabinet with it it will sound different, and the end result will be the combination of the two cabinet sounds. not something that's altogether easy to control with the basic EQ on the amp. Secondly, as you have now seen, the amp is packed full of fibreglass. Running it with an extension cab could lead to the amp getting hotter... From the sounds of things, the sound you're after isn't one the Polytone does well. I've heard many say that they very much have their own sound, and you either love it or hate it. If you're up for building your own cab though. Why not take a look at [url="http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/"]Bill Fitzmaurice's[/url] web site and invest in a reasonable secondhand head?

Might be easier getting the truss rod fixed...

My dad had a few of these in the 80s, amazing little amps for their time! I too recall that the internal speaker was an unusual impedance (3 ohms) and that their own extension speaker was unusual too. If you can get inside and check the internal speaker impedance it would help your quest. However, if the above is correct, a higher impedance won't damage the, but the balance of power distribution will mean one speaker is working harder than the other, and you'll probably lose power... Or you could try and ask them about it... [url="http://www.polytoneamps.com"]www.polytoneamps.com[/url] ...you may have to call the US though, I think their website was made in Powerpoint and they don't do email! Edit: found this, not sure how helpful it is: Polytone typically used Eminence speakers. Make sure you match the ohms since Polytone did not use a standard-at-the time speaker commonly using either 2, 3 or 4 ohm speakers. MINI-BRUTE AMPLIFIERS Teeny-Brute: 60 watts RMS into 4 ohms one 10" speaker Mini-Brute I&II: 80 watts RMS into 4 ohms one 12" speaker Mini-Brute III&IV: 100 watts RMS into 3 ohms one 15" speaker Mini-Brute V: 110 watts RMS into 2 ohms two 10" speakers SIDEKICK CABINETS Sidekick cabinets are compatible with each of the above models and do not have to be matched with a similar model. MONITOR CABINET TB10: 10" speaker - 4 ohms MB12: 12" speaker - 4 ohms MB15: 15" speaker - 4 ohms

I think the blend control works just like a pickup selector switch (2 inputs one output) it's just you have more control - however, I've not tried this because I really don't like blend controls (for the simple reason that on a gig, where you have to get the right sound quickly, and usually without auditioning it, switches are more reliable). For the OP, the series / parallel switch above should knock out the blend control (i.e. it will be useless) - I think Fender do this slightly differently though because, their way (with 2 vol controls) it's possible to turn the bass off if you flick the switch while the bridge vol. is full and neck vol. is off - which is a no-no for me!

500k Volume pot with pull up should replace existing. You'll also need a 500k blend (Basically two 500k volume pots back to back). You may have to translate the wiring diagram i put above for the series parallel for pull up vol pot (but the switch bit should be separate to the traditional volume pot connections anyway...) Below is how to wire up a Vol, blend, tone - it says Jazz bass but will work for any 2 pickup bass. So you'll need to just substitute the pickup switch in the one above for the blend in the one below... (White is the Pickup +)